J&T Bank: We Did Not Want to Assume the Losses of Previous Managements

Today, J&T Bank from the Czech Republic confirmed that their offer for Centar Bank was conditional upon the fulfillment of certain requirements, and since these were not met, the bank decided to withdraw from its plans.

“In order to protect its investment, J&T Bank’s offer was conditional upon the fulfillment of a certain number of requirements by the current shareholders of Centar Bank and other institutions interested in the successful implementation of the entire process. Since the requested conditions were not met and it was not possible to find common ground in negotiations, J&T Bank decided to withdraw from its plans,” states the official statement from J&T Bank regarding the circumstances related to the investment in Centar Bank.

J&T Bank from the Czech Republic emphasizes that as an “established and credible investor present in the EU banking market for over 15 years, they cannot afford to participate in projects where further development is unclear and vaguely defined.”

“From the beginning of the negotiations, we pointed out that we did not want to assume and clean up the losses arising from the behavior of the previous managements of Centar Bank,” J&T Bank emphasizes.

They also state that they offered not only know-how and financial capital, which they “deposited in a trust account in a Croatian bank,” but also a vision for the development of Centar Bank alongside their Croatian partners.

“Entering the ownership structure of Centar Bank under different conditions and time pressure would be very irresponsible towards the shareholders of J&T Bank. At this moment, we are ready to enter the Croatian market as an active player, and as such, we are open to all further negotiations with serious partners,” concludes the official statement from J&T Bank.

The Croatian National Bank (HNB) yesterday submitted a proposal to the Commercial Court in Zagreb for the opening of bankruptcy proceedings against Centar Bank. The decision was made yesterday by the HNB Council after it was determined that the recapitalization of Centar Bank, which was to be carried out by the Czech J&T Bank, in accordance with the decision of the bank’s general assembly from August 16, 2013, was absent, stated the HNB in a press release regarding the proposal for the opening of bankruptcy proceedings against Centar Bank.